THE 

HISTORY 

OF 

LITTLE HENRY 

AND 

MIS BM*dRER* 

BY MRS. SHERWOOD. 

TWENTY-THIRD EDITION. 



WELLINGTON, SALOP: 

PRINTED BY AND FOR F. HOULSTON AND SON. 

And sold at 

THEIR WAREHOUSE, 65, PATERNOSTER-ROW, 

LONDON, 

AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 

1826. 

[Entered at Stationers' Hall.] 












> 









MTTILJE MENU 



AND 



$to Bearer. 



HENRY L was born at 

Dinapore in the East-Indies. 
His papa was an officer in the 
Company's service, and was kill- 
ed in attacking a mud fort be- 
longing to a Zemeendar* a few 
months after the birth of his son. 
His mamma also died before he 
* A landholder. 



6 LITTLE HENRY 

was a year old. Thus little 
Henry was left an orphan when 
he was a very little baby: but 
his dying mother, when taking^! 
her last farewell of him, lifted up 
her eyes to heaven, and said, 
"O God, I leave my fatherless 
child with thee, claiming thy 
promise in all humility, yet in 
full confidence that my baby will 
never be left destitute; for in 
thee the fatherless find mercy." 
The promise to which she alluded 
is to be found in Jeremiah xlix. 
1 1 . Leave thy fatherless children, 
I will preserve them alive ; and let 
thy widows trust in me. 



AND HIS BEARER. 7 

As soon as Henry's mamma 
was dead, a lady, who lived at 
that time in a large puckah* 
^house near the river between 
Patna and Dinapore, came and 
took little Henry, and gave him 
a room in her house, giving 
strict orders to her servants to 
provide him with every thing 
that he wanted. But as she 
was one of those fine ladies who 
will give their money (when 
they have any to spare) for the 
relief of distress, but have no 
idea how it is possible for any 

* The meaning of puckah is ripe, or 
strong; it here means brick or stone. 

A 3 



8 LITTLE HENRY 

one to bestow all his goods to 
feed the poor, and yet want 
charity; she thought that when 
she had received the child, an cP 
given her orders to her servants, 
she had done all that was neces- 
sary for him. She would not 
afterwards suffer Henry to give 
her the least trouble, nor would 
she endure the smallest incon-, 
venience on his account: and 
thus the poor child, being very 
young and unable to make known 
his wants, might have been cru- 
elly neglected; had it not been 
for the attention of a hearer? 
• A servant, whose work is to carry a 



AND HIS BEARER. 9 

who had lived many years with 
his papa, and had taken care of 
Henry from the day that he was 
* born. 

When he was a very little 
baby, Boosy (for that was the 
hearers name) attended him 
night and day, warmed his pap, 
rocked his cot, dressed and un- 
dressed and washed him, and did 
every thing for him as tenderly 
as if he had been his own child. 
The first word that little Henry 
tried to say was, Boosy; and 

palanquin; but who is frequently employed 
to take care of children. 



10 LITTLE HENRY 

when he was only ten months 
old he used to put his arms 
round his neck, and kiss him, or 
stroke his swarthy cheek with 
his delicate hand. 

When Henry was carried to 
the lady's house, Boosy went 
with him; and for some years 
the little child had no other 
friend than his bearer. Boosy 
never left his choota sahib* ex- 
cept for two hours in the twenty- 
four when he went to get his 
Jchauna.-f At night he slept on 
his mat at the foot of the child's 
* Little master. t Food. 



AND HIS BEARER. 11 

cot; and whenever Henry called, 
he was up in a moment, and had 
milk or toast-and-water ready to 
give him to drink. Early in the 
morning, before sun-rise, he took 
him out in a little carriage which 
was provided for him, or carried 
him in his arms round the gar- 
den. When he brought him in, 
he bathed him and dressed him, 
and gave him his breakfast and 
put him in his cot to sleep: 
and all the day long he play- 
ed with him; sometimes car- 
rying him in his arms or on 
his shoulder, and sometimes 
letting him walk, or roll upon 



12 LITTLE HENRY 

the carpet. Every body who 
came to the house noticed the 
kindness of Boosy to the child, 
and he got presents from 
many people for his goodness 
to Henry. 

When Henry was two years 
old, he had a dreadful illness : so 
alarming indeed was it, that for 
many days it was thought he 
would die. He had another 
very severe illness when he was 
four years old, for he was never 
a very healthy child. During 
the height of these sicknesses, 
his bearer never left him; nor 



AND HIS BEARER. 13 

would he take any rest, even by 
the side of his bed, till he 
thought the danger was over. 

These things considered, it 
cannot be a matter of wonder 
that this little boy as he grew 
older should love his bearer more 
than all the world besides; for 
his bearer was almost his only 
friend, no one else taking much 
thought about him. Henry could 
not speak English, but he could 
talk with Boosy in his language as 
fast as possible; and he knew 
every word, good or bad, which 
the natives spoke. He used to sit 



14 LITTLE HENRY 

in the verandah? between his 
bearer's knees, and chew paun,-\ 
and eat bazar% sweetmeats. He 
wore no shoes nor stockings; but 
was dressed in panjammahs^ and 
had silver bangles\ on his ancles. 
No one could have told by his 
behaviour or manner of speak- 
ing that he was not of Indian o- 
rigin, but his delicate complexion, 
light hair, and blue eyes, at once 
shewed his parentage. 

* An open gallery or passage, 
t An intoxicating mixture of opium 
and sugar, &c. 

J A market. § Trowsers. 
|| Ornaments generally worn round the 
wrists and ancles. 



AND HIS BEARER. 15 

Thus his life passed till he was 
five years and a half old : for the 
lady in whose house he lived 
(although he was taught to call 
her mamma) paid him no kind 
of attention ; and it never occur- 
ed to her that it was right to 
give him any religious instruc- 
tions. He used to see his bearer 
and the other natives performing 
poojah* and carrying about their 
wooden and clay Gods; and he 
knew that his mamma sometimes 
went to church at Dinapore: 
so he believed that there were a 
great many Gods, and that the 

* Ceremony: Offering. 
B 



16 LITTLE HENRY 

God to whom his mamma prayed 
at Dinapore was no better than 
the Gods of wood, and stone, 
and clay, which his hearer wor- 
shipped. He also believed that 
the River Ganges was a God- 
dess, and called Gunga; and 
that the water of the river could 
take away sins. He believed, 
too, that the Mussulmauns were 
as good as Christians, for his 
mamma's khaunsaumaun* had 
told him so. Henry was more- 
over taught by the servants ma- 
ny things, which a little boy 
should not know : but the ser- 
* A kind of house-steward. 



AND HIS BEARER. 17 

vants, being Heathens, could not 
he expected to teach him any 
thing* better; and therefore they 
were not so much to be blamed 
as the lady wh<5 had undertaken 
the charge of him, who might 
have been ashamed to leave the 
child of Christian parents under 
the care of such persons. 

When Henry was five years 
old, a young lady, who was just 
arrived from England, came to 
reside for a while with his mam- 
ma. She was the daughter of 
a worthy clergyman in England, 
and had received from him a 



18 LITTLE HENRY 

religious education. She had 
brought with her from home a 
box of Bibles, and some pret- 
ty children's books and pic- 
tures. When she saw poor little 
Henry sitting in the verandah, 
as his custom was, between his 
hearers knees, with many other 
native servants surrounding him; 
she loved him, and was very- 
sorry for him : for, indeed, it is a 
dreadful thing for little children 
to be left among people who 
know not God. So she took 
some of the prettiest coloured 
pictures she had, and spread 
them on the floor of the room, 



AND HIS BEARER. 19 

the door of which opened into 
the verandah near the place 
where the little boy usually 
sat. When Henry peeped in and 
saw the pictures, he was tempted 
by them to come into the room; 
but at first he would not venture 
in without his bearer. After- 
wards, when he got more accus- 
tomed to the lady, he was con- 
tented that his bearer should sit 
at the door, while he went in. 
And at last he quite lost all fear, 
and would go in by himself: nay, 
he never was more happy than 
when he was with this lady; for 
she tried every means to gain bis 
b 3 



20 LITTLE HENRI 

love, in order that she might 
lead him to receive such instruc- 
tions as the time of her intended 
stay with his mamma would al- 
low r her to give him. 

She was very sorry when she 
found that he could not speak 
English: however, she was re- 
solved not to be checked by 
this difficulty. She taught him 
many English words by shewing 
him things represented in the 
coloured pictures, telling him 
their English names; so that in 
a short time he could ask for 
any thing he w r anted in English* 



AND HIS BEARER. 21 

She then taught him his letters 
in one of the little books she had 
brought from home, and from 
his letters she proceeded to spell- 
ing: and so diligent was she, 
that before he was six years old 
he could spell any words, how- 
ever difficult, and could speak 
English quite readily. 

While this young lady was 
taking pains, from day to day, 
to teach little Henry to read, she 
endeavoured by word of mouth 
to make him acquainted with 
such parts of the Christian reli- 
gion as even the youngest ought 
to know; and without the know- 






22 LITTLE HENRY 

ledge of which no man can be a 
Christian: and she did not like 
to wait until Henry could read 
his Bible, before she would in- 
struct him in subjects of so 
much importance. 

The first lesson of this kind 
which she strove to teach him, 
was, that there was only one true 
God, and that all things were 
made by him: namely, the glo- 
rious heaven, to which those per- 
sons go who have been made 
the children of God on earth; 
and the dreadful hell, prepared 
for those who die in their 
sins; the world and all things 



AND HIS BEARER. 23 

in it; the sun, the moon, the 
stars, and all the heavenly bo- 
dies. And she was going to 
teach him the following words 
from Colossians i. 16. For by 
him were all things created, that 
are in heaven, and that are in 
earth — -but no sooner did lit- 
tle Henry understand that she 
meant to teach him that there 
is but one God, than he got ve- 
ry angry, and told her that she 
did not speak a true word; for 
his mamma had a God, and his 
bearer had a God, and there 
were a great many Gods besides : 
and he ran out into the verandah, 
and told his bearer what the 



24 LITTLE HENRY 

chootee bebee* had said; and 
down he sat between his bear- 
er's knees, and would not come 
again to her that day, although 
she brought out her finest pic- 
tures and a new book on pur- 
pose to tempt him. 

The young lady did not fail 
to pray very earnestly for little 
Henry that night, when she was 
withdrawn to her room, and her 
door shut. And her Father, on 
whom she called in secret, in the 
name of his beloved Son, heard 
her prayer : for the next day 
little Henry came smiling into 
* Young lady. 



AND HIS BEARER. 25 

her room, having quite forgotten 
his ill-humout- ; and she was now 
enabled to talk to him with ad- 
vantage on the same subject. 
And she made him kneel down, 
and pray to God to give him 
sense to understand the truth. 
She had also provided herself 
with one of the Hindoo Gods 
made of baked earth; and she 
bid him look at it, and examine it 
well: she then threw it down 
upon the floor, and it was broken 
into a hundred pieces. Then 
she said, " Henry, what can this 
God do for you? it cannot 
help itself. Call to it, and ask 
it to get up. You see it can- 



26 LITTLE HENRY 

not move." And that day the 

little boy was convinced by her 
arguments. 

The next discourse which the 
young lady had with Henry was 
upon the nature of God. She 
taught him that God is a Spi- 
rit: that he is every where; 
that he can do every thing; 
that he can see every thing; 
that he can hear every thing; 
that he knows even the inmost 
thoughts of our hearts; that he 
loves that which is good, and 
hates that which is evil; that 
he never had a beginning, and 
never will have an end. She 



AND HIS BEARER. 27 

also taught him, that in this one 
only and true God there are 
three Persons, namely, God the 
Father, God the Son, and God 
the Holy Ghost: and that these 
three Persons, although none is 
afore or after the other, perform 
different works or offices for man. 

Henry now began to take plea- 
sure in hearing of God, and ask- 
ed many questions about him. 
He next learnt that God 
made the world in six days, and 
rested from his work on the se- 
venth: and that he made man 
and woman innocent at first. He 
c 



28 LITTLE HENRY 

then was taught how our fore- 
father Adam was tempted, with 
Eve his wife, to eat the forbidden 
fruit; and how by this means sin 
entering into the world, and the 
nature of Adam becoming sinful, 
all we his children, being born in 
his likeness, are sinful also. 

Henry here asked what sin is? 

" Sin, my child," answered 
the lady, "is whatever displeas- 
es God. If your mamma were 
to desire you to come into her 
room, or to do something for 
her, and you were to refuse, 



AND HIS BEARER. 29 

would she not have reason to 
be displeased with you?" 

"Yes; I suppose so.* 

" Or, if you ask Boosy to 
fan you, or to carry you in 
your palanquin, and Boosy does 
something quite different; or if 
you desire him to carry you 
one way, and he carries you ano- 
ther: would he not do wrong?" 

"Yes; to be sure." 

■'Well, then; whatever you 
do contrary to the commands of 
God, displeases him, and is sin." 



30 LITTLE HENRY 

But the lady still found great 
difficulty in making Henry un- 
derstand the nature of sin: 
for he had been so neglected 
that he did not know right 
from wrong. He did not con- 
sider a lie as sinful; nor feel 
ashamed of stealing, unless it 
was found out. He thought, 
also, that if any body hurt 
him, it was right to hurt them 
in return. After several days, 
however, she made the subject 
clear to him; and then further 
explained how sin has corrupt- 
ed all our hearts : and she made 
him repeat the following words 
till he could say them quite 



AND HIS BEARER. 31 

well : The Lord looked down from 
heaven upon the children of men, 
to see if there were any that did 
understand, and seek God. They 
are all gone aside, they are alto- 
gether become filthy; there is 
none that doeth good, no, not 
one. Psalm xiv. 2, 3. 

She next made the little boy 
understand that eternal death, 
or everlasting punishment, is the 
consequence of sin : and he 
soon could repeat two or three 
verses to prove this; one was, 
The unrighteous shall not inherit 
the kingdom of God. 1 Corin- 
c 3 



32 LITTLE HENRY 

thians vi. 9. and another, They 
shall look upon the carcases of 
the men that have transgressed 
against me; for their worm shall 
not die, neither shall their fire 
be quenched; and they shall be 
an abhorring unto all flesh. Isa- 
iah lxvi. 24. 

And now the lady had brought 
Henry to know that he and all 
the world were sinners, and that 
the punishment of sin is eternal 
death; and that it was not in his 
Dower to save himself, nor for 
any thing on the earth to wash 
him from his sins; and she had 



AND HIS BEARER. 33 

brought him several times to 
ask her with great earnestness 
what he must do to be sav- 
ed, and how his sins could be 
forgiven, and his heart freed 
from evil tempers - her next les- 
son, therefore, was to explain to 
him what the Lord Jesus Christ 
had done for him : how God was 
manifest in the flesh, justified in 
the Spirit, seen of angels, preach- 
ed tinto the Gentiles, believed on in 
the world, received up into glo- 
ry; 1 Timothy iii. 16. and how 
we have redemption through his 
blood, lie having made peace for 



34 \ LITTLE HENRY 

us through the blood of his cross. 
Colossians i. 14, 20. 

Little Henry was particularly 
pleased whenever he heard of 
our Saviour: and, by divine 
grace, his heart seemed to be 
wonderfully filled with love for 
his Redeemer; and he was so 
afraid of offending him, that he 
became careful of every word 
he said, and of every thing he 
did; and he was always asking 
the young lady if this was right? 
and if that was right? and if 
God would be angry with him 



AND HIS BEARER. 35 

if he did this or that? so that 
in a short time his whole beha- 
viour was altered. He never 
said a bad word, and was vex- 
ed when he heard any other 
person do it. He spoke mildly 
and civilly to every body. He 
would return the salam* of the 
poorest coolie^ in the bazar. If 
any body had given him a 
rupee^ he would not spend 
it in sweetmeats or playthings; 
but he would change it into 

* Health: Salutation, 
t A kind of low cast of men, who 
have no trade, but work at any kind of 
common employment. 
J A silver coin of the value of-half-a-crown. 



36 LITTLE HENRY 

pice* and give it to the fakeers1[ 
who were blind or lame, or such 
as seemed to be in real distress, 
as far as it would go. 

One day Henry came into the 
lady's room, and found her open- 
ing a box of books. " Come," 
said she, " Henry, help me to 
unpack these books, and to carry 
them to my bookcase." Now, 
while they were thus busy, and 
little Henry much pleased to 
think that he could make him- 

* Pence. 
t Beggars: A religious order of men, 
something like monks or dervises. 



AND HIS BEARER. 37 

self useful, the lady said, " These 
books have different kinds of 
covers, and some are larger than 
others, but they all contain the 
same words, and are the book 
of God. If you read this book, 
and, with God's help, keep the 
sayings written in it, it will bring 
you to heaven; it will bring 
you to where your beloved Re- 
deemer is, to the throne of the 
Lamb of God, who was slain 
for your sins." 

" O ! I wish," said Henry, 
"that I had one of these books! 
I will give you all my play- 



38 LITTLE HENRY 

things, ma'am, and my little 
carriage, for one of them." 

The lady smiled, and said, 
" No, my dear, keep your play- 
things, and your little carriage, 
too: you shall have any one of 
these books you like best." 

Henry thanked the lady with 
all his heart, and called Boosy 
in to give his advice whether 
he should choose a book with a 
purple morocco cover, or one 
with a red one. When he had 
fixed upon one, he begged a 
bit of silk of the lady, and 



AND HIS BEARER. 39 

carried it to the tailor to make 
him a bag for his new Bible; 
and that same evening he came 
to the lady to beg her to teach 
him to read it. So that day- 
he began: and he was several 
days over the first chapter of 
Genesis; but the next chapter 
was easier, and the next easier 
still; till, very soon, he was 
able to read any part of the 
Bible without hesitation. 

With what joy and gratitude 
to God did the young lady see 
the effect of her pious labours! 
She had, in the space of a year 

D 



40 LITTLE HENRY 

and a half, brought a little or- 
phan from the grossest state of 
heathen darkness and ignorance 
to a competent knowledge of 
those doctrines of the Christian 
religion which are chiefly neces- 
sary to salvation. She had put 
into his hand the book of God, 
and had taught him to read it: 
and God had, in an especial 
manner, answered all her prayers 
for the dear child. 

The time was now coming on 
very fast, when she must leave 
little Henry; and the thoughts 
of this parting was very painful 



AND HIS BEARER. 41 

to her. Some days before she 
set out on her journey, she 
called him into her room, and 
questioned him concerning the 
things which she had taught 
him ; directing him, as often as he 
could, to give his answers from 
the Bible. Her first question was, 
" How many Gods are there?" 

Henry. There is one God; 
and there is none other but he. 
Mark xii. 32. 

Lady. Do we not believe 
that there are three Persons in 
this one God? 



42 LITTLE HENRY 

Henry. There are three thai 
bear record in heaven; the Fa- 
ther 9 tJie TVord, and the Holy 
Ghost: and these three are one. 
1 John v. 7. 

Lady. What do you mean 
by the Word? 

Henry. The Word is the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

Lady. Do you know that 
from the Bible? 

Henry. Yes; for St. John 
says, in the first chapter of his 



AND HIS BEARER. 43 

Gospel, In the beginning was the 
Word, and the Word tvas with 
God, and the Word tvas God. He 
was in the world, and the world 
was made by him, and the world 
knew him not. 

Lady. Did God make man 
good at first? 

Henry. Yes; for in the first 
chapter of the Bible, the last 
verse it is written, God saw 
every thing that he had made, 
and, behold, it was very good. 

Lady. Are men very good 
d 3 



44 LITTLE HENRY 

now? Can you find me one per- 
son who deserves to be called 
good? 

Henry. I need not look into 
the Bible to answer that ques- 
tion. I need but just get into 
the palanquin, and go into the 
bazar, and shew you the people 
there: I am sure I could not 
find one good person in all the 
bazar. 

Lady. But I think, Henry, 
you might spare yourself the 
trouble of going into the bazar 
to see how bad human creatures 



AND HIS BEARER. 45 

are : could you not find proofs 
of that nearer home? 

Henry. What, our servants 
you mean? Or, perhaps, the 
ladies who are in the hall with 
my mamma? they laughed at 
the Bible at breakfast; I knew 
what they meant, very well; and 
my mamma laughed too: I am 
sure nobody can say that they 
are good. 

Lady. No, my dear; those 
poor ladies are not good: it 
would be misleading you, to say 
that they are. But as we cannot 



46 LITTLE HENRY 

make them better by speaking 
ill of them in their absence, it 
would be as well not to mention 
them at all, unless it were in 
prayer to God that he would 
turn their hearts. But to re- 
turn to my question You 

need not go so far as the hall 
for an answer to it. There is 
a little boy in this very room, 
called Henry: can he be said to 
be a good boy? A very few 
months ago, that little boy used 
to tell lies every day: and only 
yesterday I saw him in a pas- 
sion, because the sais* would not 
* A servant who has the charge of a horse. 



AND HIS BEARER. 47 

let him get on the back of 
one of the coach-horses; and I 
think, but I am not sure, that 
he gave the sais a blow. 

Henry. I know it was very- 
wicked: but I had no stick in 
my hand, and therefore I hope I 
did not hurt him. I hope God 
will give me grace never to do 
so again. I gave the sais all 
that I had left of my rupee, 
this morning; and I told him 
that I was very sorry. 

Lady. I mentioned it, my 
dear, that you might know 



48 LITTLE HENRY 

where to look for an answer to 
my question. 

Henry, Oh! I know that I 
am not good. I have done ma- 
ny, many naughty things, which 
nobody knows of; no, not ev^ri 
Boosy. And God only can know 
the naughtiness of my heart. 

Lady. Then you think your- 
self a sinner ? 

Henry. A very great one. 

Lady. Where do sinners go 
when they die? 



AND HIS BEARER. 49 

Henry. The tvicked shall be 
turned into hell, and all the na- 
tions that forget God. Psalm 
ix. 17. 

Lady. If all wicked people 
aje turned into hell, how can 
you escape? 

Henry. If I believe in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, I 
shall be saved. Stay one 
moment, and 1 will shew 
you the verse. " Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt he saved." Acts 
xvi. 31. 



50 LITTLE HENRY 

Lady. What! if you believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, shall 
you go to heaven with all your 
sins? Can sinful creatures be in 
heaven? 

Henry. No; to be sure not. 
God cannot live with sinners. 
He is of purer eyes than to behold 
evil. Habakkuk i. 13. But if I 
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
he will take away my sin; for 
His blood eleanseth from all sin: 
1 John i. 7. and he will give me 
a new heart, and make me a new 
creature, and I shall be purified 
as he is pure. 1 John iii. 3. 



AND HIS BEARER. 51 

Now the Lady was pleased 
with little Henry's answers: and 
she thanked God in her heart 
for having; so blessed her labours 
with the poor little boy. But 
she did not praise him, lest he 
should become proud: and she 
well knew that God resisteth the 
proud, but giveth grace unto the 
humble. James iv. 6. So she 
refrained from commending him; 
but she said, "What do you 
mean, my dear, by being made 
quite new again ?" 

Henry. Before I knew the 
Lord Jesus Christ, I used to 

E 



52 LITTLE HENRY 

^think of nothing but naughty 
things. I loved myself more 
than any body else. I loved 
eating fruit and sweetmeats; 
and was so greedy of them, that 
I would have told a hundred 
lies, I do think, for one mouth- 
ful of them. Then I was pas- 
sionate and proud. I used to 
be so pleased when any body 
bowed to me, and said, "Sahib." 
And you cannot think how cruel 
I was to all kinds of little crea- 
tures I could get hold of, even 
the poor cock-roaches: I used 
to kill them just for my own 
pleasure. But now I do think 



AND HIS BEARER. 53 

my heart is beginning to change 
a little, I mean a very little, for I 
gave all my last sweetmeats to the 
matre's* boy. But still I kno\t 
that my heart is far from being 
clean yet; but God can make 
it white and clean when he 
pleases. 

Lady. You must pray every 
day, and oftentimes in the day, 
and in the night when you are 
awake, my dear child; that God 
will send his Holy Spirit into 
your heart, to make it clean 

* A sweeper: a person of low cast, 
who eats every thing. 



54 LITTLE HENRY 

and pure, and to lead and di- 
rect you in all you do. Bless- 
ed are those, my dear child, who 
love the Lord Jesus Christ: 
for unto them the Spirit of 
truth shall be revealed; and 
it shall dwell with theni, and be 
in them. John xiv. 17. 

She then shut the door of the 
room; and she and the little 
boy knelt down together, and 
prayed to God, that he would, 
for his dear Son's sake, create a 
clean heart in the child, and re- 
new a light spirit within him. 
Psalm li. 10. When the young 



AND HIS BEARER. 55 

lady arose from her knees, she 
kissed little Henry, and told him, 
not without many tears, that she 
must soon go away from him. 

When Henry heard this news, 
for some moments he could not 
speak; at length he cried out, 
" What shall I do, when you are 
gone! I shall have nobody to 
speak to but my bearer, for my 
mamma does not love me; and 
I shall spend all my time with 
the natives. I shall never more 
hear any body talk of God. 
Oh! I very much fear that I 
shall become wicked again." 
e 3 



56 LITTLE HENRY 

"My poor child," said the 
lady, " do not doubt the power 
of God. When our Saviour was 
going to leave his disciples, he 
said, i I will not leave you or- 
phans;* I will come to you.' 
John xiv. 18. And do you 
think, my child, that after the 
blessed Lord God has made him- 
self known unto you, and adopt- 
ed you as a dear son, that 
he will leave you comfortless? 
Think how good he was to call 
you from the paths of destruc- 
tion, and from the way of hell. 
You knew not so much as his 

* The word is orphans in the original. 



AND HIS BEARER. 57 

holy name, and were living al- 
together among the Heathens. 
It was by his providence that I 
came here ; that I remained here 
so long; that I loved you, and 
endeavoured to teach you; and 
that I had a Bible to give you. 
Faithful is he, my beloved child, 
who called you. He will preserve 
your ivhole spirit and soul and 
body blameless unto the coming 
of the Lord Jesus" 1 Thess. v. 
23, 24. She then sung a verse 
of a hymn to him; which he 
often repeated, and would try 
to sing, when she was far away 
from him. 



58 LITTLE HENRY 

Jesus sought me, when a strangfer, 
Wandering from the fold of God; 

He, to save my soul from danger, 
Interpos'd his precious blood.* 

Now it would take more time 
than I have to spare, to repeat 
the several conversations which 
this young lady had with little 
Henry before she went away. 
He cried sadly the day she 
went. He followed her down 
to the river-side; for she was 
going down to Berhampore, 
where she was soon afterwards 

* Sung to the tune of the Sicilian 
Mariners' Hymn. 



AND HIS BEARER. 59 

married to a very pious young 
man of the name of Baron. 

Henry went on board the 
hudgerow,* to take leave of her. 
She kissed him many times 
before they parted; and gave 
Boosy, who was with him, four 
rupees, backshish, that he might 
continue to behave well to his 
little sahib. The last words al- 
most that she said to Henry 
were these, " You must try, my 
dear child, with the grace of 
God, to make Boosy a Chris- 
tian ; that he may be no longer 
* A kind of barge. 



60 LITTLE HENRY 

numbered among the Heathen, 
but may be counted among the 
sons of God." 

When the budgerow was ready 
to sail, little Henry took his last 
leave of the lady, and came on 
shore ; where he stood under the 
shade of a Brarninee fig-tree,* 
watching the boat as it sailed 
down the broad stream of the 
Ganges, till it was hidden by the 
winding shore. Then Boosy, 
taking him up in his arms, 
brought him back to his mam- 

* A tree, that takes root downward 
from its branches. 



AND HIS BEARER. 61 

ma's house: and from that time 
he was as much neglected as he 
had been before this good young 
lady came; with this difference 
only, (and that indeed was a 
blessing for which I doubt not 
he will thank God to all eterni- 
ty,) that he was now able to read 
the book of God; whereas, be- 
fore, he knew not even God's 
holy name. 

Sometimes his mamma would 

let him eat his tiffin* with her: 

but, as she always employed 

herself at table (when not ac- 

* Luncheon. 



62 LITTLE HENRY 

tually eating) in smoking her 
hookah^ and as most of her 
visitors did the same, the tiffin- 
time was very stupid to the 
little boy; for, instead of plea- 
sant and useful discourse, there 
was* in general nothing to be 
heard at these meals but the 
rattling of plates and knives- 
and-forks, the creaking of the 
punkah^ and the guggling of 
the water in the hookah; except 

* A kind of pipe, the smoke of which 
is drawn through water, and the motion of 
the air through the water causes a bub- 
bling noise. 

t A large fan suspended from the 
ceiling. 



AND HIS BEARER. 63 

his mamma (which not unsel- 
dom happened) occasioned a 
little variety, by scolding the 
servants and calling them names 
in their own language. 

So poor little Henry found no 
better companion than his bear- 
er; and he never was more 
pleased than when he was sitting 
by him in the verandah, reading 
his Bible to himself. 

And now the young lady's 
last words returned to his mind, 
namely, " You must try to make 
Boosy a Christian." But he 



64 LITTLE HENRY 

did not know how to begin 
this work: it seemed to him, 
that the heart of poor Boosy 
could only be changed by the 
immediate interference of God; 
so fond was he of his wooden 
Gods and foolish ceremonies, 
and so much was he afraid of 
offending his gooroo* And in 
this respect Henry judged right- 
ly; for no one can come to 
God without the help of God: 
yet he has pointed out the 
means by which we must en- 
deavour to .bring our fellow- 
creatures to him; and we must, 
* A religious teacher, or confessor. 



AND HIS BEARER. 65 

in faith and humility, use these 
means, praying for the divine 
bles3ing to render them effec- 
tual. 

The first step which Henry 
took towards this work, was to 
pray for Boosy. After some 
thought, he made a prayer, 
which was much to this purpose : 
" O, Lord God, hear the humble 
prayer of a poor little sinful 
child. Give me power, O God, 
for thy dear Son's sake, (who 
died for us upon the cross,) to 
turn the heart of my poor 
bearer from his wooden Gods, 



66 LITTLE HENRY 

and to lead him to the cross 
of Jesus Christ." This prayer 
he never failed to repeat eyery 
night, and many times a day: 
and from time to time he used 
to talk to Boosy, and repeat to 
him many things which the 
young lady had taught him. 
But although Boosy heard him 
with good-humour, yet he did 
not seem to pay much heed to 
what the child said ; for he 
would argue to this purpose: 
"There are many brooks and 
rivers of water, but -they all 
run into the sea at/ last; so 
there are a great many religions, 



AND HIS BEARER. 67 

but they all lead to heaven: 
there is the Mussulmaun's way 
to heaven, and the Hindoo's 
way, and the Christian's way; 
and one way is as good as ano- 
ther/' He asserted, also, that if 
he were to commit the greatest 
sin, and were to go immediate- 
ly afterwards and wash in the 
Ganges, he should be quite in- 
nocent. And a great many 
other foolish things he had to 
say to the same purpose, so 
that he sometimes quite out- 
talked the child. But Henry 
was so earnest in the cause he 
had undertaken, that, although 
f 3 



68 LITTLE HENRY 

he might be silenced at one 
time, yet he would often (after 
having said his prayer and con- 
sulted his Bible) begin the at- 
tack again. He would some 
times get close to him, and look 
in his face, and say, " Poor 
Boosy! poor Boosy! you are 
going the wrong way, and will 
not let me set you right: there 
is but one way to heaven; our 
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
is the way to heaven, and no 
man cometh unto God but by 
him'" John xiv. 6. Then he 
would try to explain who the 
Lord Jesus Christ is: how he 



AND HIS BEARER. 69 

came down to the earth ; that he 
took man's nature upon him; 
suffered and died upon the cross 
for the sins of men; was buried, 
and arose again on the third 
day, and ascended into heaven; 
and is now sitting at the right 
hand of God, from whence he 
will come to judge the quick 
and the dead. 

In this manner the little boy 
proceeded from day to day: but 
Boosy seemed to pay him little 
or no attention; nay, he would 
sometimes laugh at him, and ask 
him why he was so earnest about 



MTTLE HENRY 

a thing of so little consequence? 
However, to do Boosy justice, 
he never was ill-humoured or 
disrespectful to his little sahib. 

Now it happened, about this 
time, that Henry's mamma had 
occasion to go to Calcutta; 
and, as she went by water, she 
took Henry and his bearer in 
the budgerow with her. Henry 
had not been well, and she 
thought the change of air might 
do him good. It was at the 
end of the rains ; at that sea- 
son of the year when India is 
most green and beautiful, al- 



AND HIS BEARER. 71 

though not most healthy. When 
the budgerow came to anchor 
in an evening, Henry used to 
take a walk with his hearer; 
and sometimes they would ram- 
ble among the fields and villa- 
ges for more than a mile from 
the river. Henry had all his 
life been confined to one spot; 
so, you may be sure, he was 
well pleased to see so many 
different countries, and asked 
many questions about the things 
which he saw. And often, du- 
ring these rambles, he used to 
have an argument with Boosy 
concerning the great Creator of 



72 LITTLE HENRY 

all things: and Henry would 
say to his bearer, that the great 
God, who made all things, could 
not be like the Gods which 
he believed in, which, accord- 
ing to his accounts of them, 
were more wicked and foolish 
than the worst men. 

Once, in particular; it was in 
one of those lovely places near 
the Raja-mehal* hills; Henry 
and his hearer went to walk. 
Henry's mamma had during the 
day been very cross to him, 
and the poor little fellow did 

* The hall of the rajah. 



AND HIS BEARER, 73 

not feel well, although he did 
not complain; but he was glad 
when he got out of the boat. 
The sun was just setting, and a 
cool breeze blew over the water, 
with which the little boy being 
refreshed, climbed without diffi- 
culty to the top of a little hill 
where was a tomb. Here they 
sat down: and Henry could not 
but admire the beautiful pro- 
spect which was before them* 
On their left hand was the broad 
stream of the Ganges winding 
round the curved shore, till it 
was lost behind the Raja-mehal 
hills. The budgerow, gaily paint- 
ed, was fastened to the shore 



74 LITTLE HENRY 

just below them; and with it 
many lesser boats, with thatched 
and sloping roofs. The dandies* 
and native servants, having fi- 
nished their day's work, were 
preparing their khauna, in dis- 
tinct parties, according to their 
several casts, upon the banks of 
the river: some grinding their 
mussala^ some lighting their 
little fires, some washing their 
brass vessels, and others sitting 
in a circle upon the ground 
smoking their cocoa-nut hoo- 
kahs. Before them, and on 

* Boatmen, 
t A general name for spices, salt, me- 
dicine, &c. 



AND HIS BEARER. 75 

their right hand, was a beau- 
tiful country abounding with 
corn-fields, topes of trees, thatch- 
ed cottages with their little 
bamboo porches, plantain and 
palm trees; beyond which the 
Raja-mehal hills were seen, 
some bare to their summits, 
and others covered with jun- 
gle* which even now afford a 
shelter to tigers, rhinoceroses, 
and wild hogs. 

Henry sat silent a long time. 

* Uncultivated waste land, overrun 
with brushwood or reeds. 

G 



76 LITTLE HENRY 

At last he said, " Boosy, this 
is a good country: that is, it 
would be a very good coun- 
try, if the people were Chris- 
tians. Then they would not 
be so idle as they now are; 
and they would agree toge- 
ther, and clear the jungles, 
and build churches to worship 
God in. It will be pleasant 
to see the people, when they 
are Christians, all going on 
a Sunday morning to some 
fair church built among those 
hills, and to see them in an 
evening sitting at the door of 



AND HIS BEARER. 77 

their houses reading the shat- 
ter* — I do not mean your shas- 
ter, but our shaster, God's book," 

Boosy answered, that he knew 
there would be a time when 
all the world would be of one 
religion, and when there would 
be no cast; but he did not 
know when that would be, and 
he was sure he should not live 
to see it, 

"Tkere is a country now," 
said Henry, " where there are 
no casts; and where we all 
shall be like dear brothers. It 

* The Hindoo religious books. 



78 LITTLE HENRY 

is a better country than this: 
there are no evil beasts; there 
is no more hunger, no more 
thirst; there the waters are 
sure; there the sun does not 
scorch by day, nor the moon 
smite by night. It is a coun- 
try to which I sometimes think 
and hope I shall go very soon: 
I wish, Boosy, you would be 
persuaded either to go with me, 
or to follow me," 

"What!" said Boosy, "is 
sahib going to Willaet?*" And 
then he said, he hoped not; for 

* Country: but generally applied to 
Europe. 



AND HIS BEARER. 79 

he could never follow him 
through the black water, as the 
Hindoos call the seas. 

Henry then explained to him ? 
that he did not mean England, 
but heaven. " Sometimes I 
think," said he, " when I feel 
the pain which I did this morn- 
ing, that I shall not live long: 
I think I shall die soon, Boosy, 
O, I wish! I wish I could per- 
suade you to love the Lord 
Jesus Christ !" And then Henry, 
getting up, threw his arms 
round Boosy's neck, and beg- 
ged him to be a Christian. 
g 3 



80 LITTLE HENRY 

"Dear Boosy," he said, "good 
Boosy,do try to be a Christian." 
But poor little Henry's attempts 
were yet quite ineffectual. 

In little more than a month's 
time from their leaving Dina- 
pore, they reached Calcutta, and 
were received into the house of 
a worthy gentleman of the name 
of Smith. When Henry's mam- 
ma was settled in Mr. Smith's 
house, she found less inclination, 
if possible, than ever, to pay 
any attention to Henry. Ac- 
cording to the custom of India, 
she must pay the first visit to 



AND HIS BEARER. 8J 

all her acquaintance in Calcutta. 
Her dresses, too, having all been 
made at Dinapore, did not agree 
with the last Europe fashions 
which were come out: these 
were all to be altered, and new 
ones bought; and it was a good 
deal of trouble to direct the 
tailor to do this properly. Her 
hair was not dressed in the 
fashion : and her ayah* was very 
stupid; it was many days be- 
fore she could forget the old 
way, and learn the new one. So 
poor Henry was quite forgotten 
in all this bustle: and, although 
* A waiting-maid. 



82 LITTLE HENRY 

he was for several days very ill, 
and complained to his bearer that 
his side gave him great pain, 
yet^his mamma never knew it. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith once or 
twice remarked, when they look- 
ed at Henry, that the child was 
very pale, and that his eyes 
were heavy: but his mamma 
answered, " O, this is nothing; 
the child is well enough; chil- 
dren in India, you know, have 
that look." 

It happened one afternoon, as 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Henry's 



AND HIS BEARER. 33 

mamma were in the drawing- 
room after tiffin, while the ladies 
were giving their opinion upon 
a magazine, which contained an 
account of the last Europe fa- 
shion of carriages and dresses, 
&c. (for I am sorry to say, 
that Mrs. Smith, although she 
had the best example in her 
husband, had still to learn not 
to love the world,) Mr. Smith, 
half angry with them, and yet 
not knowing whether he should 
presume to give them a check, 
was walking up and down the 
room with rather a hasty step; 
when his eye, as he passed the 



84 LITTLE HENRY 

door, caught little Henry sitting 
on the mat at the head of the 
stairs, between his bearer's knees, 
with his Bible in his hand. His 
back being turned towards the 
drawing-room door, Mr. Smith 
had an opportunity of observing 
what he was about without be- 
ing seen; he accordingly stood 
still, and listened ; and he heard 
the gentle voice of Henry, as 
he tried to interpret the sacred 
book to his bearer in the bearer's 
own language. 

Mr. Smith at first could scarce- 
ly believe what he saw and 



AND HIS BEARER. 85 

heard: but, at last, being quite 
sure he was not dreaming, he 
turned hastily towards the ladies, 
exclaiming, " Twenty-five years 
have I been in India, and never 
have I seen any thing like this. 
Heaven be praised! truly is it 
written, * Out of the mouth of 
babes and sucklings thou hast 
perfected praise.' Matthew xxi. 
16. For shame! for shame! 
Mrs. Smith, will you never lay 
aside your toys and gewgaws? 
Do give me that book, and I 
will let the cook have it to 
light his fire with. — -Here are 
two persons, who have been 



86 LITTLE HENRY 

nearly fifty years in the world, 
sitting together talking of their 
finery and painted toys;* while 
a little creature, who eight years 
ago had not breathed the breath 
of life, is endeavouring to im- 
part divine knowledge to the 
Heathen. But God hath chosen 
the foolish things of the world, 
to confound the wise; and God 
hath chosen the tveak things of the 
world, to confound the things 
which are mighty" 1 Corin- 
thians i. 27. 

" My dear," cried Mrs. Smith, 
" surely you forget yourself ! 



AND HIS BEARER. 87 

What can you mean? Toys, 

and finery my dear, my dear, 

you are ^very rude I" 

"Rude!" said Henry's mam- 
ma, " rude indeed ! Mr. Smith — 
and pray, sir, what do you mean 
by saying, ' Fifty years?' Do 
you suppose that I am fifty 
years old? Extraordinary in- 
deed !" 

64 1 beg pardon," said Mr. 
Smith. " I did not mean to 

offend but there is that little 

boy trying to explain the Bible 
to his bearer." 

H 



88 LITTLE HENRY 

"But, surely," said Henry's 
mamma, " you do not think 
that I am fifty years of age? — 
you are mistaken by twenty 
years." 

Mrs. Smith. O ! my dear 
madam, you must excuse my 

husband. Whenever he is a 

little angry with me, he tells me 
that I am getting old. But I 
am so used to it, that I never 
mind it. 

Mr. Smith. Well, my dear; 
leave me, if you please, to speak 
for myself. I am not a man 



AND HIS BEARER. 89 

that disguises the truth. Whe- 
ther I speak or not, time runs 
on, death and eternity approach. 
I do not see why it should be 
a matter of politeness to throw 

dust in each other's eyes But 

enough of this, and too much. 
I want to know the meaning of 
what I but now saw : a little Eng- 
lish child of seven years* of age 
endeavouring to explain the Bible 
to his bearer. I did not even 
know that the child could read. 

"O," said Henry's mamma, 
" this matter is easily explain- 
ed. I had a young lady in my 



00 LITTLE HENRY 

house at Patna, some time since, 
who taught the child to read: 
for this I was obliged to her. 
But she was not satisfied with 
that alone: she made a metho- 
dist, a downright canting rae- 
thodist, of the boy. I never 
knew it till it was too late." 

Mr, Smith. A methodistl 
What do you mean, madam? 

" Indeed," said Henry's mam- 
ma, " the child has never been 

himself since. Captain D of 

the native infantry, when 

they were quartered at Dinapore, 



AND HIS BEARER. 91 

used to have such sport with him. 
He taught him, when he was 
but two years old, to call the 
dogs and the horses, and to 
swear at the servants in Eng- 
lish but I shall offend Mr. 

Smith again," she added ; "I 
suspect him a little of being a 
methodist himself. Am I right, 
Mrs. Smith?" And she laughed 
at her own wit. But Mrs. Smith 
looked grave; and Mr. Smith 
lifted up his eyes to heaven, say- 
ing, " May God Almighty turn 
your heart!" 

"O, Mr. Smith," said Hen- 
h 3 



92 LITTLE HENRY 

ry's mamma, "you take the 
matter too seriously: I was 
only speaking in jest." 

" I shall put that to the trial, 
madam, 5 ' said Mr. Smith. " If 
you really feel no ill-will against 
religion, and people who call 
themselves religious, you will 
not refuse to let me consider 
Henry as my pupil while you 
remain in my house; which I 
hope will be as long as you 
can make it convenient. You 
have kndwn me some years, (I 
will not say how many, lest you 
should be angry again,) and 






AND HIS BEARER. 93 

you will make allowances for 
my plain dealings." 

"Well," said Henry's mam- 
ma, " we know you are an 
oddity: take your own way, and 
let me take mine." So she got 
up to dress for her evening 
airing on the course: and thus 
this strange conversation ended 
in good-humour; for she was 
not, upon the whole, an ill-tem- 
pered woman. 

The same evening, his mam- 
ma being gone out, Mr. Smith 
called Henry into his own room; 



94 LITTLE HENRY 

and learnt from him all that he 
could tell of his own history, 
and of the young lady who had 
taught him to read his Bible, 
and had advised him to try to 
make Boosy a Christian. I will 
relate to you the last part of 
this discourse which passed be^ 
tween Mr. Smith and Henry. 

Mr. Smith. Do you think 
that Boosy's heart is at all turn- 
ed towards God? 

Henry. No, I do not think 
that it is; although for the last 
half year I have been constant- 



AND HIS BEARER. 95 

ly talking to him about God: 
but he still will have it, that 
his own idols are true Gods. 

Mr. Smith. It is almost 
dangerous, my dear little boy, 
for a child like you to dispute 
with an Heathen: for although 
you are in the right, and he in 
the wrong, yet Satan, w r ho is 
the father of lies, may put 
words into his mouth which 
may puzzle you; so that your 
faith may be shaken, while his 
remains unchanged. 

Henry. Oh! sir; must I 



96 LITTLE HENRY 

give up the hope of Boosy's 
being made a Christian? Poor 
Boosy! he has taken care of 
me ever since I was born. 

Mr. Smith. But suppose, 
my dear boy, that I could put 
you in a better way of con- 
verting Boosy: a safe way to 
yourself, and a better for him? 
Can Boosy read? 

Henry. Only a very little, 
I believe. 

Mr. Smith. Then you must 
learn to read for him. 



AND HIS BEARER. 97 

Henry. How, sir? 

Mr. Smith. If I could get 
for you some of the most 
important chapters in the Bi- 
ble, such as the first chap- 
ters of Genesis, which speak 
of the creation of the world 
and the fall of man, with the 
first promise of the Saviour, 
and some parts of the Gospel, 
translated into Boosy's lan- 
guage, would you try to learn 
to read them to him? I will 
teach you the letters, op cha- 
racters as they are called, in 
which they will be written. 



98 LITTLE HENRY 

Henry. O! I will learn 
them with joy. 

Mr. Smith. Well, my boy; 
come every morning into my 
study, and I will teach you the 
Persian characters; for those 
are what will be used in the 
copy of the chapters I shall 
put into your hands. Some- 
time or other, the whole Bible 
will be translated in this man- 
ner. 

Hestry. Will the words be 
Persian, sir? I know Boosy 
does not understand Persian. 



AND HIS BEARER. 99 

Mr. Smith, No, my dear; 
the words will be the same as 
those you speak every day with 
the natives. When you have 
as much of the Bible as I can 
get prepared for you in this 
manner, you must read it to 
your bearer every day; pray- 
ing continually, that God will 
bless his holy word to him. 
And never fear, my dear, but 
that the word of God will do 
its work: " For as the rain 
cometh down, and the snow, from 
heaven, and returneth nofc thi- 
ther, but watereth the earth, 
and maJceth it bring forth and 



100 LITTLE HENRY 

bud, that it may give seed to the 
sower, and bread to the eater; so 
shall my word be that goeth forth 
out of my mouth: it shall not 
return unto me void; but it shall 
accomplish that which I please, 
and it shall prosper in the thing 
whereto I sent it." Isaiah lv. 10, 
11. "But do not, my dear boy," 
added Mr. Smith, "argue and 
dispute with your bearer about 
religion; you are not yet able. 
Only read the Bible to him, and 
pray for him continually; leav- 
ing tfye rest with God. 

But, not to make my story 



AND HIS BEARER. 101 

too long; while Henry's mamma 
remained at Calcutta, which was 
more than a year, Henry received 
a lesson every day from Mr. 
Smith in his study; and Mr. 
Smith taught him the Persian 
characters, and provided him 
with as many chapters in the 
Bible in Hindoostannee as he 
could get properly prepared in a 
short time: these he had bound 
together in red morocco, and 
presented them to Henry, not 
without asking the blessing of 
God upon them. 

How delighted was Henry, 



102 LITTLE HENRY 

when he received the book, 
and found that he could read 
it easily! He was in his place 
on the mat between Boosy's 
knees in a minute, and you 
might have heard him reading 
from one end of the house to 
the other, for he could not con- 
tain himself for joy. Nor was 
he contented with reading it 
himself, he must make Boosy 
learn to read it too. Arid this 
was brought about much sooner 
than you would have supposed 
it possible: for as Henry learnt 
the Persian letters from day to 
day of Mr. Smith, he had been 



AND HIS BEARER. 103 

accustomed afterwards to write 
them on a slate, and make Boosy 
copy them as they sat together; 
and so, by degrees, he had 
taught them all to his bearer 
before he was in possession of 
the Hindoostannee copy of the 
chapters. 

"Now, my boy," said Mr. 
Smith, "you are in the safe way 
of giving instruction, in a f n an- 
cient path cast up by God. Jere- 
miah xviii. 15. Do not trust to 
the words of your own wisdom, 
but to the word of God. Hold 
fast to the scripture, dear boy, 
i 3 



104 LITTLE HENRY 

and you will be safe. And be 
not impatient, if the seed you 
sow should not spring up im- 
mediately: something tells me 
that I shall see Boosy a Chris- 
tian before I die; or if I do 
not see that day, he that out- 
lives me will." 



Now the time arrived, when 
Henry's mamma was ^p^JLe ave 
Calcutta. Indeed, she had stayed 
much longer there than she had 
at first proposed ; but there wer< 
so many amusements going for- 
ward; so much gay company; 
so many fashionable dresses to 



AND HIS BEARER. 105 

purchase; that she could not 
find in her heart to leave them, 
although she was heartily tired 
of Mr. Smith's company. She 
respected him, indeed, as an old 
friend, and worthy man; but 
he had such particular ways, 
she said, that sometimes she had 
difficulty to put up with them. 

She proposed, as she went up 
the country, to stop at Ber- 
hampore, to see Mrs. Baron, 
When Henry heard of this, he 
was greatly pleased; yet, when 
he came to take leave of Mr. 
Smith, he cried very much. 



106 LITTLE HENRY 

As they went up the river, 
Henry took every opportunity 
of reading his chapters to his 
hearer, when his mamma could 
not overhear him: and he had 
many opportunities early in the 
morning, and in the afternoon 
when his mamma was asleep, 
as she always slept for an hour 
after tiffin. He proceeded very 
well indeed, Boosy daily im- 
proving, at least, in his know- 
ledge of the Bible : till the wea- 
ther suddenly becoming exces- 
sively hot, Henry w r as seized 
with a return of violent pain in 
his side, and other very bad 



AND HIS BEARER. 107 

symptoms. He became paler and 
thinner, and could not eat. His 
mamma, having no company to 
divert her, soon took notice of 
the change in the child, and be- 
gan to be frightened; and so 
was his bearer. So they made all 
the haste they could to Berham- 
pore, that they might procure 
advice from the doctors there, 
and get into a cool house, for 
the boat was excessively hot: 
but, notwithstanding all the 
haste which they made, there 
was a great change in the poor 
little boy before they reached 
Berhampore. 



108 LITTLE HENRY 

When they were come within 
a day's journey of the place, 
they sent a servant forwards to 
Mrs. Baron's ; so that, when the 
budgeroiv stopped the next day 
near the cantonments, Mrs. Ba- 
ron . herself was waiting on the 
shore with palanquins ready to 
carry them to her house. As 
soon as the board was fixed 
from the boat to the banks of 
the river, she jumped out of 
her palanquin, and was in the 
hudgerow in a minute, with lit- 
tle Henry in her arms. " O, my 
dear, dear boy!" she said, "my 
dear, dear boy!" She could say 



AND HIS BEARER. 109 

no more, so great was her joy : 
but, when she looked at him, 
and saw how very ill he appear- 
ed, her joy was presently damp- 
ed; and she said, in her haste, 
to his mamma, "Dear madam, 
what is the matter with Henry ? 
he looks very ill." 

* Yes," said his mamma, " I 
am sorry to say that he is very 
ill; we must lose no time in 
getting advice for him." 

" Do not cry, dear Mrs. Ba- 
ron," said little Henry, seeing 
the tears running down her 



110 LITTLE HENRY 

cheeks; "we must all die, you 
know we must, and death is 
very sweet to those who love 
the Lord Jesus Christ." 

" O, my child," said his mam- 
ma, "why do you talk of dy- 
ing? you will live to be a judge 
yet, and we shall see you with 
seven silver sticks before your 
palanquin" 

"I do not wish it, mamma,' 
isaid Henry. 

The more Mrs. Baron looked 
at Henry, the more she was af- 



AND HIS BEARER. Ill 

fected. For some moments she 
could not speak, or command 
her feelings at all; but, after 
having drank a little water, she 
became more composed; and 
proposed, that they should all 
immediately remove to her house. 
And when she found herself shut 
up in her palanquin, she prayed 
earnestly to God, that whether 
the sweet baby lived or died, he 
might not be taken from her 
in his sickness; but that she 
might, with the help of God, 
administer holy nourishment to 
his immortal soul, and comfort 
to his little weak body. 



^^mmm^mm 



112 LITTLE HENRY 

When they were arrived at 
Mrs. Baron's house, she caused 
Henry to be laid on a sofa by 
day in the sitting room, and at 
night in a room close by her 
own. The chief surgeon of the 
station was immediately sent for, 
and every thing was done for 
little Henry that the tenderest 
love could suggest 

Berhampore happened at that 
time to be very full; and Hen- 
ry's mamma, finding many of 
her old acquaintance there, was 
presently so deeply engaged in 
paying and receiving visits, that 



AND HIS BEARER. 113 

she seemed again almost entire- 
ly to forget Henry, and lost all 
her concern about him: com- 
forting herself, when she was 
going to a great dinner or ball, 
that Mrs. Baron would be with 
him, and he would be well ta- 
ken care of. But it is a poor 
excuse to make, for our neg- 
lect of duty, and one I fear 
that will not stand at the day 
of judgment, to say that there 
are others that will do it as 
well for us. 

Notwithstanding all the sur- 
geon could do, and all the care of 
Mrs. Baron, Henry's illness in- 



114 LITTLE HENRY 

creased upon him ; and every one 
had reason to think that the dear 
little fellow's time on earth would 
soon come to an end. Mr. and 
Mrs. Baron were by turns his al- 
most constant attendants: when 
one left him, the other generally 
took the place by his couch. It 
was very interesting, and rather 
uncommon, to see a fine lively 
young man, like Mr. Baron, at- 
tending a little sick child ; some- 
times administering to him his 
food or medicine, and sometimes 
reading the Bible to him — but 
Mr. Baron feared God. 

When Henry first came to 



AND HIS BEARER. 115 

Berhampore, he was able to take 
the air in an evening in a palan- 
quin, and could walk about the 
house; and two or three times 
he read a chapter m the Hin- 
doostannee Bible to Boosy : but 
he was soon too weak to read, 
and his airings became shorter 
and shorter; he was at last 
obliged to give them quite up, 
and to take entirely to his couch 
and bed, where he remained un- 
til his death. 

When Boosy saw that his lit- 
tle sahib's end was drawing on, 
he was very sorrowful, and could 
k 3 



116 LITTLE HENRY 

hardly be persuaded to leave him 
night or day, even to get his 
Jchauna. He did every thing 
he could think of to please him, 
(and more, as he afterwards said, 
to please his dying master than 
his God:) he began to read his 
chapters with some diligence; 
and little Henry would lie on 
his couch, listening to Boosy as 
he read (imperfectly indeed) the 
word of God in Hindoostannee. 
Often he would stop him, to 
explain to him what he was 
reading; and very beautiful 
sometimes were the remarks 
which he made, and better suited 



AND HIS BEARER. 117 

to the understanding of his 
bearer than those of an older 
or more learned person would 
have been. 

The last time that his bearer 
read to him, Mrs. Baron sitting 
by him, he suddenly stopped 
him, saying, f 'Ah, Boosy, if I 
had never read the Bible, and did 
not believe in it, what an un- 
happy creature should I now be! 
for in a very short time I shall 
go down to the grave to come up 
no more; Job vii. 9. that is, un- 
til my body is raised at the last 
day. When I was out last, I 



118 LITTLE HENRY 

saw a very pretty burying 
ground with many trees about 
it. I knew that I should soon 
lie there ; I mean, that my body 
would: but I was not afraid, 
because I love my Lord Jesus 
Christ, and I know that he will 
go down with me unto the 
grave; I shall sleep with him, 
and I shall be satisfied, when I 
awake, with his likeness." Psalm 
xvii. 15. He then turned to 
Mrs. Baron, and said, " I know 
that my Redeemer liveth, and that 
he shall stand at the latter day 
upon the earth: and though, after 
my skin, worms destroy this body, 



AND HIS BEARER. 119 

to 

yet in my flesh I shall see God." 
Job xix. 25, 26. " kind Mrs. 
Baron ! who, when I was a poor 
sinful child, brought me to the 
knowledge of my dear Redeem- 
er; anointing me with sweet 
ointment (even his precious 
blood) for my burial, which was 
so soon to follow." 

"Dear child!" said Mrs. Ba- 
ron, hardly able to preserve her 
composure, "dear child! give 
the glory to God." 

" Yes, I will glorify him for 
ever and ever," cried the poor 



120 LITTLE HENRY 

little boy; and he raised himself 
up in his couch, joining his 
small and taper fingers together: 
"yes, I will praise him, I will 
love him. I was a grievous sin- 
ner; every imagination of the 
thought of my heart was evil 
continually; I hated all good 
things ; I hated even my Maker : 
but he sought me out; he wash- 
ed me from my sins in his own 
blood; he gave me a new heart; 
he has clothed me with the gar- 
ments of salvation, and hath put 
on me the robe of righteousness ; 
he hath abolished death, and 
brought life and immortality to 



AND HIS BEARER. 121 

lights 2 Timothy i. 10. Then 
turning to his bearer, he said, 
" O my poor bearer! what will 
become of you, if you neglect 
so great salvation?" Hebrews ii. 
3. "O Lord Jesus Christ," he 
added, " turn the heart of my 
poor bearer r This short prayer, 
which little Henry made in Hin- 
doostannee, his bearer repeated, 
scarcely knowing what he was 
doing. And this, as Boosy after- 
wards told Mr. Smith, was the 
first prayer he had ever made to 
the true God — the first time he 
had ever called upon his holy 
name. 



122 LITTLE HENRY 

Having done speaking, little 
Henry laid his head down on 
his pillow, and closed his eyes. 
His spirit was full of joy, indeed, 
but his flesh was weak; and he 
lay some hours in a kind of 
slumber. When he awoke, he 
called Mrs. Baron, and begged 
her to sing the verse of the 
hymn he loved so much, " Jesus 
sought me, &c." which she had 
taught him at Dinapore. He 
smiled while she was singing, 
but did not speak. 

That same evening, Boosy be- 
ing left alone with his little 



AND HIS BEARER. 123 

master, and seeing that he was 
wakeful and inclined to talk, 
said, " Sahib, I have been think- 
ing all day that I am a sinner, 
and always have been one; and 
I begin te believe that my sins 
are such as Gunga cannot wash 
away. I wish I could believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ !" 

When Henry heard this, he 
strove to raise himself up, but 
was unable, on account of his 
extreme weakness; yet his eyes 
sparkled with joy: he endea- 
voured to speak, but could not;' 
and at last he burst into tears. 



124 LITTLE HENRY 

He soon, however, became more 
composed, and pointing to his 
bearer to sit down on the floor by 
his couch, he said, " Boosy, what 
you have now said makes me very 
happy: I am very, very happy to 
hear you call yourself a sinner, 
and such a one as Gunga cannot 
make clean. It is the Spirit of 
God through Jesus Christ which 
has made this known to you: he 
has called you to come unto him. 
Faithful is he that calleth you. 
I shall yet see you, my poor 
bearer, in the general assembly 
and church of the first-born." 
Hebrews xii. 23. "You were 



AND HIS BEARER. 125 

kind to me when my own father 
and mother were dead. The 
first thing I can remember, is 
being carried by you to the 
Mangoe tope near my mamma's 
house at Patna. Nobody loved 
me then but you: and could I 
depart in peace, and leave you 
behind me in the way to hell? I 
could not bear to think of it! 
Thank God! thank God! I 
knew he would hear my prayer: 
but I thought that, perhaps, 
you would not begin to become 
a Christian till I was gone. 
When I am dead, Boosy," added 
the little boy, " do you go to 



126 LITTLE HENRY 

Mr. Smith at Calcutta. I can- 
not write to him, or else I 
would: but you shall take him 
one lock of my hair, (I will 
get Mrs. Baron to cut it off, 
and put it in paper,) and tell 
him that I sent it. You must 
say, that Henry L — — , who 
died at Berhampore, sent it, with 
this request, that good Mr. Smith 
will take care M his poor 
bearer when he has lost cast for 
becoming a Christian." Boosy 
would have told Henry that 
he was not quite determined 
to be a Christian, and that 
he could not think of losing 



AND HIS BEARER. 127 

cast; but Henry, guessing what 
he was going to say, put his 
hand upon his mouth. "Stop! 
stop!" he said; "do not say 
words which will make God 
angry, and which you will be 
sorry for by and by: for I 
know you will die a Christian, 
God has begun a good work 
in you, and I am certain that 
he will finish it." 

While Henry was talking to 
his bearer, Mrs. Baron had 
come into the room; but, not 
wishing to interrupt him, she 
had stood behind his couch; 

L 3 



128 LITTLE HENRY 

but now she came forward. As 
soon as he saw her, he begged 
her to take off his cap, and 
cut off some of his hair, as 
several of his friends wished 
for some. She thought that 
she would endeavour to com- 
ply with his request. But when 
she took off his cap, and his 
beautiful hair fell about his 
pale sweet face; when she con- 
sidered how soon the time 
would be when the eye that 
had seen him should see him 
no more; she could not re- 
strain her feelings; but, throw- 
ing down the scissars, and 



AND HIS BEARER. 129 

putting her arm round him, 
"O my child! my dear, dear 
child!" she said, "I cannot 
bear it! I cannot part with you 
yet!" 

The poor little boy was af- 
fected: but he gently reprov- 
ed her, saying, " If you love 
me, you will rejoice, because I 
go to my Father. 9 ' John xiv. 
28. * 

There was a considerable 
change in the child during 
the night; and all the next 
day till evening he lay in a 



130 LITTLE HENRY 

kind of slumber: and when he 
was roused to take his medi- 
cine or nourishment, he seem- 
ed not to know where he 
was, or who was with him. 
In the evening he suddenly 
revived, and asked for his 
mamma. He had seldom ask- 
ed for her before. She was 
in the house: for she was not 
so hard-hearted (thoughtless as 
she was) as to go into gay 
company at this time, when 
the child's death might be hour- 
ly expected. She trembled much 
when she heard that he asked 
for her. She was conscious, 



AND HIS BEARER. 131 

perhaps, that she had not ful- 
filled her duty by him. He re- 
ceived her affectionately, when 
she went up to his bed-side, and 
begged that every body would 
go out of the room, saying, that 
he had something very particular 
to speak about to her. He talk- 
ed to her for some time, but no- 
body knows the particulars of 
their conversation: though it is 
believed that the care of her im- 
mortal soul was the subject of the 
last discourse which this dear lit- 
tle boy held with her. She came 
out of his room with her eyes 
swelled with crying, and his 



132 LITTLE HENRY 

little well-worn Bible in her hand, 
(which he had probably given to 
her, as it had hitherto always lain 
on his bed by him;) and shut- 
ting herself in her room, she 
remained, without seeing any 
one, till the news was brought 
that all was over. From that 
time she never gave her mind 
so entirely to the world as she 
had formerly done; but became 
a more serious character, and 
daily read little Henry's Bible. 

But now to return to little 
Henry. As there are but few 
persons who love to meditate 






AND HIS BEARER. 133 

upon scenes of death, and too 
many are only able to view the 
gloomy side of them, instead of 
following, by the eye of faith, 
the glorious progress of the de- 
parting saint; I will hasten to 
the end of my story. The 
next day at twelve o'clock, 
being Sunday, he was deliver- 
ed from this evil world, and 
received into glory. His pas- 
sage was calm, although not 
without some mortal pangs. 
May we die the death of the 
righteous, and may our last end 
he like his! Numbers xxiii. 
10. 



134 LITTLE HENRY 

Mr. and Mrs. Baron and his 
bearer attended him to the last 
moment, and Mr. Baron fol- 
lowed him to the grave. 

Sometime after his death, his 
mamma caused a monument to 
be built over his grave, on 
which was inscribed his name, 

Henry L , and his age, 

which at the time of his death 
was eight years and seven 
months. Underneath was a part 
of his favourite verse, from 
1st. Thessalonians v. altering 
only one word. " Faithful is 
he that called me." And after- 



AND HIS BEARER. 135 

wards was added, by desire 
of Mr. Smith, this verse, from 
James v. 20. " He which con- 
verteth the sinner from the er- 
ror of his way j shall save a soul 
from death, and shall hide a 
multitude of sins." 

When I first visited Berham- 
pore, I went to see little Hen- 
ry's monument. It was then 
white and fair, and the in- 
scription very plain: but I am 
told, that the damp of that 
climate has so defaced the in- 
scription, and blackened the 
whole monument, that it can- 

M 



136 LITTLE HENRY 

not now be distinguished from 
the tombs which surround it. 
But this is of little consequence, 
as all who remember Henry 

L have long ago left Ber- 

hampore; and we are assured 
that this dear child has himself 
received an- inheritance that fa- 
deth not away. 1 Peter i. 4. The 
world passeth away, and the lust 
thereof: but he that doeth the 
will of God abideth for ever. 
1 John ii. 17. 

Every person who reads this 
story will, I think, be anxious 
to know what became of Boo- 



AND HIS BEARER. 137 

sy. Immediately after the fu- 
neral of his little sahib, having 
received his wages, with a hand- 
some present; he carried the 
lock of hair, which Mrs. Baron 
sealed up carefully, with a let- 
ter from her to Mr. Smith. He 
was received into Mr. Smith's 
family, and removed with him 
to a distant part of India ; where, 
shortly after, he renounced cast, 
and declared himself a Chris- 
tian. After due examination, 
he was baptized; and continu- 
ed till his death (which happen- 
ed not very long after) a sincere 



138 LITTLE HENRY 

Christian. It was on the occa- 
sion of the baptism of Boosy, 
to whom the Christian name 
of John was given, that the 
last verse was added to the 
monument of little Henry. 

From Mrs. Baron and Mr. 
Smith I gathered most of the 
anecdotes relative to the his- 
tory of Henry L . 

Little children in India, re- 
member Henry L , and go 

and do likewise. Luke x. 37. 
For they that be wise shall shine 



AND HIS BEARER. 



139 



as the brightness of the firma- 
ment; and they that turn many 
to righteousness, as the stars for 
ever and ever. Daniel xii. 3. 




FINIS. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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